The Patriot Post® · We Get Results

Our headline is tongue-in-cheek, but there is good news to report. Last week, we noted that 85-year-old Korean War veteran Merrill Newman had been detained by North Korea for no apparent reason. Today we can report that he has been released and is home with his family.

The North Koreans claimed that Newman had been detained due to alleged crimes he had committed during the Korean War but that he was being released on humanitarian grounds after he admitted his wrongdoing and apologized. We don’t buy a word of it, though there’s no telling what really happened. Newman’s only public comments upon release were a bit cryptic: “I’m very glad to be on my way home, and I appreciate the tolerance the DPRK government has given to me to be on my way. I feel good, I feel good. I want to go home to see my wife.” It’s likely that he was playing it safe until he was actually on U.S. soil again.

One interesting side note is that Newman turned down a ride on Air Force Two with Joe Biden. The vice president said he had “no direct role” in Newman’s release, but offered him a ride home. Newman flew commercial instead.